Inclusive-Empathy in Leadership

The unexpected rapid change in the workplace revealed one simple truth: Sizeable benefits exist when leaders show inclusive-empathy. Given current developments in the way people work with technology and within society, inclusive-empathy needs to be adapted. How do leaders begin to show inclusive-empathy if this was never the case beforehand? And what tactics can be used to continually display inclusive-empathy in challenging times? First, a leader needs to understand and reflect upon the patterns and routines that may have quietly manifested at work and the interactions with others that follow on. This is easier said than done, and in practice it is quite a challenge to identify patterns via self-reflection.

To assist leaders on the journey of increasing inclusive-empathy, we would like to share one practical tool from our leadership consulting practice that incorporates reflections as well as opportunities for behavior change: an inclusive-empathy visual mapping approach. When practicing the “inclusive-empathy muscle,” we ask leaders to draw a map of their team by identifying (a) where each individual is in terms of physical distance and (b) how far or near the person is to them with regard to their interpersonal relationship. We then guide them to be mindful of their emotional reactions to each individual on the map using a multi-sensory approach (Carroll & Smolović Jones, 2018). Specifically, we let leaders draw lines between each individual and themselves. We navigate the map creation process simply by asking questions about each team member, where and why the team member should be placed on a particular location on the map. Questions include the following: “How far do you see between yourself and the individual? Is the representation too distant or too closed off? What color can best represent your thinking about the relationship? Do you feel warm or cold?” In this way, the multisensory approach enables leaders to move their focus from the rational to the empathetic. The purpose of the exercise is to uncover something that leaders may not be able to verbalize or logically explain. We then move the leader’s attention to the individual by asking the leader to put themselves “in the other person’s shoes.” Specifically, we can ask “how would you feel in this situation?” Through practice, the leader recognizes their own potential emotional responses, which in turn helps them become more attentive to the often all too subtle emotional reactions of others.

The first outcome of drawing an inclusive-empathy map is an in-depth look at the “inner image”: the leader, the team, and the organizational perspective. Leaders then have a visual representation of what emotions are brought to interactions, which in turn helps increase conscientiousness, presence, and curiosity toward each individual with whom leaders have regular interactions. Reflective conversations can also help unpack the root cause of emotional obstacles, such as stress and anxiety due to situational uncertainty, conflicts, and business crises (Mosteo et al., 2016). This reflection provides assistance over the longer term as revisiting the map can help leaders rework the map and relationships over time.

Second, the map can be used to take a further step to an “outer image.” Through the visual mapping process, we ask leaders to draw an image of society beyond the organization, then invite a connection between the outside images and the “inner image” on the map. While undertaking this task, we ask how leaders connect emotionally to current events in the global society, for example, the pandemic or the antiracism movement. A leader’s overall drive to connect to society beyond the organization often makes leaders communicate to a wider audience with empathy. We regularly see that they clarify their leadership values and beliefs as well as their overall purpose of work by engaging in this process. As a result, leaders are often more willing to make efforts to reach a diverse group of people and inclusive-empathy enables them to build diverse social capital. If leaders identify there are different emotional reactions across groups, we help them uncover why. For example, leaders can show care toward direct reports on ongoing projects, however might not pay as much attention to the team at large. “Out of sight” can become “out of mind.” A visual mapping exercise can prevent leaders from having “out of sight” people in the organization.

In consulting, other tools (Dillon & Bourke, 2016) have emerged as well that support an inclusive leadership style paired with empathy. If leaders are better able to reflect upon the ramifications of organizational actions via these practical tools, a more coherent leadership approach can be employed where one tailored approach to varied populations brings balance and empathy with action.